Some members of the Board of Selectmen and the Advisory Board Chairman have made a presentation about their multi-year plan for spending our money if the override passes. While I wasn’t able to attend the meeting, I was able to watch it on Cable TV. I really hope that most of the taxpayers in Bridgewater have been able to watch the presentation as well because it makes our case better then we could have. They keep saying that this is a fiscally responsible override that will sustain our Town for years, and that they will now make the reforms our Town has needed for years. However, the plan they outlines told a different story.
The plan outlines how the Town plans to spend our tax money between now and 2015 if this override passes, and it is seriously fiscally irresponsible:
- Nothing is done to keep spending in control as expenditures increase faster than revenues in the plan
- Spending at the rates called for in the plan will put the Town in a nearly $2 million deficit at the conclusion of this plan, which will obviously be “solved” by calling for another override
- While their plan calls for some minor savings health care savings, it does not call for increasing the share of health insurance paid for by Town and School District employees
- We are not really putting any money into stabilization as the balance of the stabilization account will be $0 at the end of the plan
While the proponents of the override have their campaign rhetoric going in overdrive, their own numbers prove that they plan to do nothing about the spending problems we have in Bridgewater. Their big “plan” is to raise our taxes this year, spend all the money, and then raise our taxes a few years down the road. They keep saying that this is a “fiscally responsible override”, but I believe the taxpayers of Bridgewater will continue to see through this political speak.
The plan calls for increases to every Town department of 3%, the School District budget by 4-5% and for increases to health insurance and pension contributions of about 7%. It is obvious to anyone who is looking at this override objectively that this plan is unsustainable given that taxes can increase by only 2.5% per year. Spending got us into the problems we are in now, and this plan will just exacerbate our problems. While the authors of the plan say that they are relying on “hope” to make it work, the taxpayers know that when their hopes and dreams don’t pan out it will be us who are hit up for another override.
We can save the Town nearly the amount of the override by just decreasing the amount we pay for employee health insurance. If we just made our Town and School employees pay 25% of their health insurance costs (which is still over the national average), we would not even need to be discussing weather or not to pass an override. We could fully the library and other Town departments, but the plan that goes along with this override doesn’t call for any reductions in health insurance rates. It simply calls for the Town and School District to chose the state GIC as its health insurance provider, which will save some money upfront. However, it will also increase the power of the employees themselves to prevent rate decreases.
The last point I would like to make is regarding the Town’s bond rating. It’s been said that passing an override will increase our bond rating; however, nobody can know that. I maintain that if the financial rating companies get a hold of the Town’s long-term spending plan they will probably lower our bond rating and not increase it even if the override passes. Yes, financial companies like to see money being put into a stabilization fund; however, they don’t really consider it stabilization money (and neither should anyone else) if it’s planed on being spent a couple year from now to cover budget increases.
There is no good reason to vote yes on this override. If it passes it will just enable the same Town leaders to continue to mismanage Bridgewater’s finances for years to come. Please Vote No on June 14th at the Old High School/New Middle School.